Good to see him producing but when talking about him as a prospect...I don't see him getting into "the bigs"...I hope I'm wrong but just my thoughts.

i disagree, he's always been a confidence player and when he has it he gets going great. his biggest problem was his skating and defensive play. hes really improved on both, and now that hes producing he can finally stop all the hating. obviously the wings management see's him making it. last year one thing i kept reading was that most trade offers they got had him going the other way and Holland said no. the ahl next then call ups the following one, i see him eventually 2nd-3rd player in the NHL with a similer Career to Hudler except pulks is a little bigger and had the Holy slapper so i would like him on point.

Disappointing couple years for Pulkkinen, couple that with not improving much at all in the skating department and it's not a promising outlook

from the few games I saw last year and from the few games I have seen, and what I have heard this year, his skating has improved a lot, and his overall game has also improved he is not a 1 dimensional player anymore which imo improves his outlook.

from the few games I saw last year and from the few games I have seen, and what I have heard this year, his skating has improved a lot, and his overall game has also improved he is not a 1 dimensional player anymore which imo improves his outlook.

I've heard the same about his skating and overall play, supposedly much improved. That said I've seen very little of Teemu so I'll reserve judgement until I get to see what he can do in GR.

Disappointing couple years for Pulkkinen, couple that with not improving much at all in the skating department and it's not a promising outlook

How much of him have you seen lately? His movement is much better and so is his play. Last season was pretty bad for him, as was the start of this season, but for the last few months he's been very good. If anything, this is the first time in a long time his outlook could be described as encouraging, maybe even promising.

The problem with Pulkkinen's shot is he has the furthest thing from a fast release in hockey

That was a big complaint of mine about Brunner at the begining of the year. Stop the puck then big wind up and shoot. Stop the puck pull it waaaaay back and shoot. Brunner learned pretty fast that if yo give NHL goaltenders that much time to get across you won't score often. He's seems to have figured it out. Hopefully Pulks can learn the same thing. Every time I hear a report about Pulks it seems like he's improved on something different in his game. He seems like he is putting the work in to get better. I don't get to see him play so I could be wrong.

how's he doing in the AHL playoffs? 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 games are pretty good, but how is his play?

His speed has improved significantly from where it was, he is pretty defensively responsible and plays the body at times. Looks like he will have a fairly easy transition to North America and put up some pretty decent numbers next year in Grand Rapids.

Anyone think he has a chance to be a scoring 3rd line winger in the NHL?

He's currently leading the Griffins in scoring with 17 goals, 39 points in 45 games. That's good enough for 11th best in the AHL.
I've read that his skating has been improving. That won't ever be a strength for him, but if he can keep up and get to be an average nhl skater he could make a name for himself on the PP.

Anyone think he has a chance to be a scoring 3rd line winger in the NHL?

He's currently leading the Griffins in scoring with 17 goals, 39 points in 45 games. That's good enough for 11th best in the AHL.
I've read that his skating has been improving. That won't ever be a strength for him, but if he can keep up and get to be an average nhl skater he could make a name for himself on the PP.

Anyone have any info on whether his release has gotten any quicker?

Even though he's not particularly fast, he's pretty quick. His shot is just as advertised and he's got a great release on his wrist shot. He's definitely got the upside of a 2nd liner.

Anyone think he has a chance to be a scoring 3rd line winger in the NHL?

He's currently leading the Griffins in scoring with 17 goals, 39 points in 45 games. That's good enough for 11th best in the AHL.
I've read that his skating has been improving. That won't ever be a strength for him, but if he can keep up and get to be an average nhl skater he could make a name for himself on the PP.

Anyone have any info on whether his release has gotten any quicker?

Nice to hear.. I like this kid's attitude when he was in Finland. Now leading hes AHL team in points.. hope he gets a shot in the NHL at some point.

Scored another goal tonight. One thing I love about watching Pulkkinen is that he's not just a big shot from the point. He has that in his arsenal and like The Nose said he's got a great release for his wrister, but I had no Idea how high his Hockey IQ was. He see's the ice great and is a hell of a playmaker.

He also is one of those player that just seems to have above average to great chemistry with everyone he plays with. Last year he was great with Jurco and Sheahan, this year Jarnkrok is almost always on the ice with him and they rotate the other wingers depending on how the game is going.

I also agree with The Nose in that he isn't fast, but he is quick and can surprise you if you think he isn't going to go for the puck in a race. As far as his defense is, I wouldn't put him on your top PK unit but if you had to he could be on the B squad.

He doesn't shy away from physical gameplay, and will throw the occasional big hit. but what is funniest is when a big guy on another team see's little Pulks on the ice goes to run em, and Pulkkinen just uses those leg muscles to thrust himself into the guy last second knocking him on his ass.

At this point I would be shocked if he doesn't make the NHL. It might not be with the Wings since Nyquist, Tatar, and Jurco have established themselves as very highly talented players at the highest level, and Mantha isn't going to be in Grand Rapids for 3 years. The Red Wings have always been Pulkkinen's biggest fans though and have turned down several trades when his name was tossed around in the past. If I had to guess He will be a 3rd liner with PP time on the Wings with Sheahan and either Tatar, Jurco, or Jarnkrok within the next 2 years where they will be the complementary line similar to what we had in our prime years. He will hover around 15-25 goals and 40-50ish points and around age 26ish will either be promoted to full time top 6 or be traded. and Put up much higher numbers making us look bad.

Anyone think he has a chance to be a scoring 3rd line winger in the NHL?

He's currently leading the Griffins in scoring with 17 goals, 39 points in 45 games. That's good enough for 11th best in the AHL.
I've read that his skating has been improving. That won't ever be a strength for him, but if he can keep up and get to be an average nhl skater he could make a name for himself on the PP.

Anyone have any info on whether his release has gotten any quicker?

His release and skating continue to improve, he even now has at times taken a much shorter approach to his holy slapper with similar speed, not all the way to his max like his big wind up or one timers, but still really heavy.

Watched the goalie actually bail on one in Milwaukee in their first game with the Griffins here and it went just high and smashed the glass, the crowd let out an audible gasp at just how hard he shot. Had that been going top corner the goalie was still bailing pulled his hand back in and ducking, was kind of hilarious. Honestly in the top 10 of hardest shots I have seen in person in my life and that includes a lot of NHL talent (family had season tickets to the Wings when I was growing up) when he gets a hold of it you can lose the puck in person it is going that fast.